The Press., 1887-04-28


 ical, think. They say there was some shad sent word once that they was goin' to take a trip up Wzllimantic river. So Ellington, she thought they longht to he treated kinder polite, snd 80 she stretched out her hand to shake hands. But the snobs of shad gave them ali the straight cut, and told Ellington to shake her own paw. Ellington felt that worked up about it that she never even drew her arm back {; and it's reachin' out there yet, wedged in between Holland and Stafford-the fun niest, longest arm that ever you seen Af- ter while they all got to crying about, it, and their tears all run together, and made Square Pond, or Crystal Lake.
 When we got along there that morning, at half-past ten, it began to rain a little, and the waves looked cold, and the swings looked as if you didn't care if you couldn't stop to swing in 'em.
 It may be. :tCrysta1 Lake" all right enough, some of your fine dave, but that Ipu.chiky Wednesday mornin' the crystals must have all turned to lead. It looked kinder as eff it was tealin' mad, and was makin' up faces to mock the sky. Every thing around looked sort O schenectady, and we said we guessed that the last pic nic they had there had naughty boy in l it. Mabel, she wanted to see, but she hadn't dast to uncover her eyes.
 But there was a man in his shirt sleeves sawin' wood beside of little house with a lot of children around They ali looked happy. I guess they was havin' pic nic all to themselves.
 1 We'll, it kept on rainin' little harder and little harder; and after while we come to a white house on the corner with
 red under-pinniu'. The prospect begun Eto look pretty dubious. We begun to think
 we should have to put up at the minister's 's
 house-that's in Rockville, you know-and stay over night.
 So we drove on as fast as we could, but 'twa'n't no use. It ralned harder than ever.
 Mir. and Mrs. Great Heat hadn't made nc
 calculations on its rainin', and left theil
 waterproofs to home. The next few miles
 there wasn't going to be house to stop
 at. Isa, she was afraid it would spile hel
 shawl to get it wet, so we skiteo back to the house on the corner with the red brick
 basement, and drove under the shed. Dolly and me was about the only ones
 that didn't seem as if they cared. She got her oats little quicker-that's all
 So this was the way we passed the time Dolly a mnnchin' away on her oats, and
 after g while the folks got to munohin' or thelr black cake and doughnuts and crack CTS and the man O. the house he was ou there, aa neat and sooiahle as you please and whispered to them blue hens, anC
 set them to gossippin' and chucklin' anG lAughin' about 1t all, and they stood uI
 there on one leg and enjoyed it; so VI thought we might as well.
 The man seemed to try to make us for get our misfortunes. He'd lost son tn, year before by lead poisoning, and our lit tie inconvenience dwindled away in thu face of his great sorrow. We often thinl of that good old man and how sorry he wa
 that his women folks want to home, anC how kind he was to go in and make up fire for us. a. --.-- It was ruther cold out there waitin', ant 1t rained harder than ever; and Isa ant } Jennie had te look ont CT they'd hit thei heads against the beams but they con clnded to stick it cut where they was
 There was some nonsense about spendin the night up in the loft there, but w l didn't.
 Byme bye they was a couple of chap , come along that seemed to know him pret : ty well aud they hung round spell, til ! he went and found out what they wante " but he didn't tell us what it was. Wa
 ter, Mabel said, she guessed But he got to talkin' with the schoc K ma'am about her father, who used to teac g singin' school around in those parts; an about her great-grHnd father and great grand another, and lots of other relation and how she got married to a young doC
 tor that used to be Monson boy, off an e who used to live in that very house, an g how one daughter of the house had first rate luck teachin' schooli in Windsor Locks t on, and how some more of her relative '- owned the twoplaces on the west; and As j. ron, he pointed out O. the shed, and say a he, "I was born down there in Windsor. 8 So you see we had quite talk and bt e fore we hardly knew, it, the oats was al ], eat up, and Dolly hada't got anything t D do, and the black cake was gone, and ]: had most stopped rainin'.
 So Jennie she spread her gossamer owe = Isa's paisley shawl-lt wouldn't hurt Jer nie's wrap if it did get wet-and made waterproof for her little jet bonnet out C the lunch paper, and when she got it or g by gimini crickets she looked so comic al, we had to laugh every time we locke !. at her. Of all the fashions ever seen, ths brown paper bonnet was thecap sheaf. S t we backed out of the shed, and turned dow that leaf of the geography, and left tn 3 hens to finish out their chucklin'
 We didn't see anybody the next mile o